THOUSANDS of people lined the streets of Melksham on Saturday for the town’s first carnival procession in two years because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The annual procession marked the return of the carnival to the town after an absence in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic with the last procession being held in summer 2019.  

But this year’s event was hit by the rising fuel prices and soaring insurance costs, leading to a dramatic fall in the number of floats on lorries taking part.

Melksham Lions Club member Simon White said the carnival had been “ruined” by a rise in Health & Safety regulations and risk insurance costs.

“Children and adults are no longer able to stand on the back of a tractor or the back of a lorry unless they are bolted to the floor. It has ruined it,” he said.

Because of the drop in floats, no judging took place and no prizes for the best entries were awarded this year.

A Carnival spokesperson said: “We made the decision not to award the trophies this year due to the number of entrants.

“It would feel pretty rubbish to the few groups who didn’t get an award when applications were low, and that is not what we are trying to achieve with Carnival. Hopefully, we can bring back judging next year.”

However, these issues failed to put a damper on the carnival procession, which was given a boost by the number of tractors and walking entries taking part.

This year’s procession was led by Melksham mayor, Cllr Simon Crundell and town crier Peter Dauncey, making his last appearance at the carnival before he retires.

This year’s carnival royalty was headed by Carnival Queen Debbie Holman and Carnival Princess Grace Povey.

Megan Thomas was Butterfly Princess and Darcey Corbett the Fairy Princess. This year’s Page was Henry Holman. 

The floats this year included the local fire service, St John’s Ambulance, Wizz Stearne, the Dolphins Marching Band and 4 Stars Dance.

A stilt walker, Dreams That Glitter, Meads of Melksham, A Day at the Races, Phoenix Twirlstars, Julie Abbott, and Proud Melksham also took part.

Melksham Lions Club put out Santa on holiday, wearing a sun hat, with the Lions’ ladies wearing grass skirts and brightly-coloured Hawaiian shirts.